Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech
Special Collections and University Archives, University Libraries (0434) 560 Drillfield Drive Newman Library, Virginia Tech Blacksburg, Virginia 24061 Business Number: 540-231-6308 specref@vt.edu URL: http://spec.lib.vt.edu
LM Rozema, Archivist, and Special Collections and University Archives Staff
Repository
Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech
Identification
Ms.1992.048
Title
John D. Wagg Papers 1849-1894
Quantity
0.4 Cubic Feet, 1 box
Creator
Wagg, John D., 1835-1866
Language
The materials in the collection are in English.
Abstract
The John D. Wagg Papers, 1849-1894, documents the career and religious thoughts of Methodist preacher John D. Wagg and his
fellow preachers, as well as the lives of his daughter Bettie Wagg, their family, and their friends. The collection contains
correspondence, diaries and notebooks, sermons, church documents, and miscellaneous writings.
The copyright status of this collection is unknown. Copyright restrictions may apply. Contact Special Collections and University
Archives for assistance in determining the use of these materials. Reproduction or digitization of materials for personal
or research use can be requested using our reproduction/digitization form: http://bit.ly/scuareproduction . Reproduction or digitization of materials for publication or exhibit use can be requested using our publication/exhibition
form: http://bit.ly/scuapublication . Please contact Special Collections and University Archives (specref@vt.edu or 540-231-6308) if you need assistance with
forms or to submit a completed form.
Conditions Governing Access
The collection is open for research.
Preferred Citation
Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: [identification of item], [box], [folder],
John D. Wagg Papers, Ms1992-048, Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va.
Source of Acquisition
The John D. Wagg Papers were purchased by Special Collections and University Archives in November 1992 and August 2011.
Processing Information
The processing, arrangement, and description of the John D. Wagg Papers commenced and was completed in January 1993. Additional
processing, arrangement, and description was completed in September 2020.
John D. Wagg, son of minister James Wagg, was born in Jefferson, North Carolina, on July 8, 1835. Although he initially studied
medicine in 1854 at Jefferson Academy, Wagg eventually entered the ministry. On July 17, 1858, the Holston Conference of the
Methodist Episcopal Church South authorized and licensed him as a preacher. The Holston Conference, in the mid-nineteenth
century, encompassed most of western North Carolina, eastern Tennessee, and southwestern Virginia.
Wagg's first appointments were in the Virginia counties of Giles, Russell, and Wise, where he labored as a circuit preacher.
By 1859, however, he was reassigned to Hillsville, Virginia, where he married Lavinia "Vin" Anderson on May 13, 1862.
Wagg subsequently assumed ministerial duties in Asheville, North Carolina, in late 1862. His only child, Martha Elizabeth
"Bettie" Wagg, was born there at the home of lawyer Joshua Roberts on March 6, 1863. On August 6, 1864, his wife Lavinia died.
In late 1864, John D. Wagg relocated to Bristol, Virginia, although he continued to deliver occasional sermons in Asheville.
Wagg was superannuated by the Methodist Episcopal Church South in 1865 because of tuberculosis. He died in 1866.
Bettie Wagg attended Martha Washington College in Abingdon, Virginia, in the mid-1880s. She died on March 20, 1898, and is
buried along with her father John D. Wagg in Hillsville, Virginia.
The John D. Wagg Papers, 1849-1894, contain correspondence, diaries and notebooks, church documents, and miscellaneous poems
and essays. Correspondence comprises letters to Wagg from ministers, family, and friends, 1858-1866, and letters between Bettie
Wagg and her grandfather James Wagg and friends,1869-1894. Church documents include Wagg's credentials and a list of members
and map of the Hillsville circuit. The diaries and notebooks include notes for and copies of sermons as well as information
about church. There are also miscellanous poems and essays by Wagg and his wife Lavinia and daughter Bettie.
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